This one goes best with a cold beer, or two, or three......
You Never Even Called Me By My Name
Written By Steve Goodman
As Recorded By David Allan Coe
Well, it was all
That I could do to keep from cryin'
Sometimes it seemed so useless to remain
But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me by my name
You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings
And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride
And you don't have to call me Merle Haggard Anymore
Even though you're on my fightin' side.
CHORUS:
And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain
But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even called me by my name
Well, I've heard my name
A few times in your phone book (Hello, Hello)
And I've seen it on signs where I've played
But the only time I know
I’ll hear "David Allan Coe"
Is when Jesus has his final judgment day.
REPEAT CHORUS
RECITATION:
Well, a freind of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song and he told me it was the perfectcountry and western song.
I wrote him back a letter and I told him it was NOT the perfect country and western song because he hadn't said anything at all about Mama,
Or Trains,
Or Trucks,
Or Prison,
Or gettin' drunk.
Well he sat down and wrote another verse to the song, and he sent it to me,
and after reading it, I realized that my friend had written the perfect country and western song and I felt obliged to include it on this album
The last verse goes like this here:
Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train!
CHORUS:
And I'll hang around as long as you will let me.
And I never minded standin' in the rain.
No, you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me
Well I wonder why you don't call me
Why don't you ever call me by my name?
Thanks for bringing back some really awful redneck high school memories (some of which are thankfully forever lost in an alcoholic haze). I gotta admit that it's a very clever song, and if it were on the radio as I pulled up to the shop, I might sit in the car until it was over. Just for the memories. But DAC is one very bad man. At least he used to be.
Great song! Of course Steve Goodman never wrote anything but great songs (at least I can't think of any). When you say two or four beers, I am assuming that you are refering to a good Texas beer and nothing from Colorado, correct?
I have recently re-kindled my love of Budweiser, so I will refrain from taking a jab at midwestern silo juice, but Coors is bad beyond belief.
Jeff: I'm sure he's still terrible. The pictures on his website are pretty wild. But the song? Well, it stands on its own, and I think his rendition is the best.
Erik: Shiner, dear boy. Can't get more Texan than that.
Doug Supernaw did a version of this too.
If for no other reason than familial loyalty, I must say "Luckenbach" is the greatest honky-tonk song of all time.
As far as all-time greatest honky-tonk song, I would probably have to go with "Luckenbach" or maybe "Mama Tried" (gotta love Hag). So, Franklin, are you really related to the great one?
Distantly. He and my father were fourth cousins, making him my fifth, which is still plenty close to get you shot in a feud. In fact, it was a feud in Alabama that led his family out into the wilderness of Texas. As coincidence would have it, years later, the brother of a man he killed moved to the same small Texas town, where they ultimately let by-gones be by-gones.
We'd continue killing one another back home in the mountains for another 45 years thereafter.
I am also related, closer this time (3rd cousin) to Dennis Weaver. I'd never met him until I dropped by his house in Colorado while I was in the Navy. Once I explained who my grandmother was, he gave me the grand tour, plus a lunch fit for a king! All I could say was "This is the finest pile of trash I have ever seen!" (He built his house from soda bottles and old tires and lots of adobe. It really is quite spectacular, and energy efficient to boot.)
"I have recently re-kindled my love of Budweiser, so I will refrain from taking a jab at midwestern silo juice, but Coors is bad beyond belief."
Is like saying "yeah, I hate eating cat poop, but that dog poop is wonderful."
Good beer has taste. Go find a local microbrewery and drink a non-lager.
John,
I normally drink ale from microbrews (some of the best are here in California), but have found myself in situations where Budweiser was all that was on hand and have realized that it is really well-balanced, crisp, and refreshing on a hot day. Now, if the mercury hits 100 I would rather reach for a Hefeweizen with a wee wedge of Meyer lemon, but a Budweiser will do.
However, when at a bullfight in the Central Valley and the heat is nearly unbearable, you can't go wrong with a $2 draft Budweiser or four. I have also found the perfect use for Bud: to serve with fine caviar.
Folks who serve caviar with champagne are simply trying to fulfill some fantasy of extravagance. The flavors of, say, a 1990 Dom Perignon to use an example of a truly great champagne, do nothing for a good Beluga (and vice versa). Some folks do as the Russians and drink chilled vodka, but that deadens the taste and smell, so what is the point of eating something with such a nuanced and delicate flavor? Turns out that the ideal beverage is good old Budweiser. It has the absolutely perfect finish for the job (and actually brings out some of the complexity of the caviar).
I used to be a doctrinaire anti-lager person, too, but have come around.
I am pro-Plzn and I vote!